


Underneath

by longlivefelicitythequeen



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Post-episode fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 12:57:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10742160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/longlivefelicitythequeen/pseuds/longlivefelicitythequeen
Summary: Oliver and Felicity are stuck in the bunker, and Oliver won't wake up. Fic inspired by the promo for 5x20.





	Underneath

**Author's Note:**

> Sup! So...this is short and messy and unbeta'd. I just absolutely needed to write something down. Like I always say, this is sooo not a speculation fic. It's just a scene that was inspired by the promo and I made it 100% more dramatic than it will be on the show. 
> 
> Okay, so now I have to go do the homework/studying I just neglected in favor of writing this. I hope ya'll are happy!!!! Enjoy xo

Felicity knows what is about to happen before it does. She hears his breathing hitch, sees his eyes flutter, his fists loosen.

No no no.

“Oliver!” The yell tears itself from her throat, the scratching burn it leaves in its wake enough to keep her focused.

He doesn't answer. When his head lolls to the side and she can't tell if his chest is still rising and falling, Felicity wants to scream.

She needs to get to him, that much she knows. Felicity doesn't hesitate in dropping to the floor, her limp legs falling to the side. It’s a feeling Felicity hoped she would never experience again. She shoves that thought aside and uses her arms to push herself closer to him, the movement much harder than she expects given her tiny frame. With her eyes focused on her destination, on _Oliver_ , and adrenaline coursing through her veins, she drags herself across the cold floor.

Draping herself across his torso, Felicity grabs his face between her hands, his stubble scraping her palms in a way that is all too familiar. His chest isn't moving.

“Come back,” Felicity sobs. “Oliver, come back!”

There is no response, and it takes her a minute to realize the screeching noise she hears is the sound of her screams echoing off the bunker’s walls. Through her sobs and cries, she chants his name. Over and over and over again until it feels like her throat is on fire.

Felicity wonders if it's possible to feel the world shift beneath her, to feel it tilt on its axis.

She realizes something she always really knew, but never let herself admit: Despite everything, despite the lies and the betrayals, Oliver is her world. And she loves him more than anything or anyone.

He’s right in front of her but she feels so alone. Felicity curses Oliver for leaving her. Why does she always get left behind?

She lets the grief consume her. It feels like she is getting sucked into a black hole of nothingness, her heart breaking into tiny fragments. Felicity's head falls to his chest, and that’s when she hears it. His heartbeat. It's so faint there is no wonder she didn't notice it before.

It is a beautiful melody in her ear, a song of reassurance.

With renewed hope, Felicity leans up to press a kiss to his cheek.

“Oliver, wake up,” She begs loudly, her voice shaky. “Come on, come on.”

Felicity kisses all around his face, calling his name between pecks. The tip of his nose, his cheeks, his forehead. She pauses, wondering if she is crossing a line, but quickly decides it's a nicer method than slapping him, so she continues.  Felicity avoids his lips though, wanting the next time they kiss to be one of love and not desperation.

She is kissing his left cheek again when he comes to, her name falling from his lips like a prayer.

**

He can't stay awake much longer. Oliver’s breathing is too shallow and his body feels heavy, like he got dosed with Vertigo. Still, he forces himself awake, focusing on Felicity’s watery gaze.

“Felicity,” he whispers in the air between them. “Are you hurt?”

Her laughter comes out like a sob and Oliver grimaces. A hand lifts to touch her shoulder but quickly drops back down. He mentally chastises himself for almost crossing the invisible barrier between them.

Felicity clearly isn't having that, though. She grabs his hand and places it on her shoulder.

His lungs expand, and he feels lighter than ever as the heat of his palm seeps into her. She shivers, and Oliver silently thanks whoever will listen that her shoulder is exposed, letting skin meeting skin.

When she doesn't pull away from his touch, his other hand wipes away the wet tears on her cheeks. She looks beautiful, Oliver thinks, before correcting himself. No, she _always_ looks beautiful.

Felicity hiccups and he shushes her, “Please, don’t. You know I hate making you cry.”

His sentence holds more than one meaning, but Felicity just shakes her head. 

“I’m sorry, but I just-I thought I lost you.”

He is sure his knees would have buckled if he wasn't slumped against the wall. The words slam into him, forcing a repressed memory to come to the surface.

Oliver sees his loved ones in a glass box, Darhk laughing maniacally as he watches his plan unfold. He sees Felicity, right in front of him, so close but he can't reach her. He can't touch her or hold her or protect her. All he can do is press his forehead against the glass and tell her how much he loves her even if she can't hear it. Even if she may never hear it again.

But then reinforcements step in, and with a desperate “ _Come here, baby_ ” she is in his arms again.

He says it in the eye of the storm, people fighting around them. _I thought I lost you._

Later that night, minutes after sliding the ring on her finger, he almost does. And now she isn't even his to lose.

The memories assault his mind, all his mistakes flashing one after another. It is as if the most miserable movie is playing in front of him and he is forced to watch. Except it's his life, not some movie he can shut off. Oliver finds himself welcoming the darkness that ebbs at the edge of his vision.

It's her voice that snaps him out of it.

“Oliver! Stay awake!” Felicity yells, her voice trembling but strong. He regards her seriously, studying the way her lip trembles but her eyes blaze with determination.

Felicity Smoak is the bravest person Oliver will ever know.

“You have to stay with me. Talk to me if you have to, just please don't leave me again,” Felicity pleads, her hands landing on his shoulders. 

He can't promise he can stay awake, but he sure as hell is going to try. If it’s her asking, he’ll do it.

Still, Oliver vows, “Never again.”

Felicity runs her thumb along the junction of his shoulder and neck in soothing patterns. He wants to close his eyes and relish the sensation, but he won't dare scare her like that. They sit in silence for a moment until he realizes the opportunity that has been handed to him.

Oliver needs to apologize. No, scratch that. He needs to grovel and beg for her forgiveness even though he knows she already gave it. He needs her to explain why she thinks catching Chase is more important than her life because it absolutely is _not_. He needs to know if that one time they had sex in the bunker meant as much to her as it did to him. Does it replay in her mind like it does in his?

He can tell when Felicity senses what is going through his mind. She can always read him like an open book; it's one of the many things he loves about her.

“Oliver…” her voice trails off, uncertain. Her eyes shine with acceptance and slight apprehension. He doesn't see any refusal or anger though, and that gives him the confidence he needs to take a leap.

Oliver hopes this will repair their fragile relationship, or at the very least hopes it won't push her farther away. He takes her hand in his, calloused thumb running along her delicate knuckles.

“Okay, Felicity,” he rasps. “Let’s talk.”

**

After Chase is killed and they make it off the island, Felicity and Oliver find a new peace beside each other, hand in hand, stronger than ever before.

And just like that, the world finally rights itself.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! :))


End file.
